First Fridays: The WMAP Image and Cosmic History

WMAP. What is it anyway? Why did an image that looks like a bunch of blue green and red blobs get so famous? Join us for a look at the image that shows us what our universe was like at some of its earliest stages. This talk will look at the history of ideas behind the cosmic background microwave radiation, the initial discovery (by accident as usual) and the implications for modern astronomy. The WMAP image is a confirmation of not just the Big Bang Theory, but also of modern inflationary models of the universe.